The San Antonio Spurs looked unstoppable tonight as they defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 122-105. It was the execution by the Spurs the entire night that won them the game. The Thunder made runs in this one, but every run was answered by the Spurs. Their offense was strong and they managed every part of their game tonight. The Thunder failed to have any resistance to the Spurs on offense and that led to a lopsided loss.
The Spurs were dominate inside tonight as they scored 66 points inside. They played tough inside the paint. The Thunder couldn’t stop anything in that area which caused them to lose tonight. Tim Duncan was strong tonight as he scored 27 points to lead San Antonio. The way he is playing the Thunder are in for a long series. His teammate Tony Parker also had a great game. There were questions about his health before the series started, but after tonight he looks healthy. Parker scored just 14 points, but he ran the offense perfectly. Parker racked up 12 assists. His play for San Antonio is crucial if they want to win this series. He moved really well for someone having an hamstring injury.
The Thunder are in for a long series. Tonight it seemed that going small will not work for them. They have to find a combination that works and stick with it. Despite 28 points from Kevin Durant and 25 from Russell Westbrook, the Thunder failed to play on the other end. Defense was their issue tonight. They allowed the Spurs to dictate the pace and that really disrupted them. Durant and Westbrook are playing the best basketball of any duo in the playoffs right now. But for the Thunder that is a problem because no one else scoring. Just look at the Spurs, they had five guys in double figures. The Thunder had just four. They must get contributions out of more guys to win. And defense is really key for them.
The Spurs were a well oiled machine tonight. The ball moved and they made plays off subpar defense. Oklahoma City will have to make more adjustments if they want this series. Tonight they looked to fight back, but couldn’t sustain anything. Game two will be very important in them making this a series. San Antonio looks unstoppable and a two game series lead could be defecating.
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